With six minutes left, the headlines looked set to belong to Croatian forward Marko Livaja, who marked his first start for the Nerazzurri with a goal to cancel out Aleksandr Ryazantsev's opener. Yet José Rondón restored the visitors' advantage and the stage was set for Nagatomo to volley in Diego Milito's cross with virtually the last kick of the game.

Both goalkeepers were forced to make diving stops early on as Antonio Cassano and Rondón had sighters on goal, and Rubin soon made the breakthrough after Jonathan's sliding tackle connected only with Gökdeniz Karadeniz. Samir Handanovič, a well-known penalty specialist, denied Bebras Natcho from the resulting spot kick, but Ryazantsev was first to the rebound and made no mistake with his left foot.

Inter were soon level after a fine pass from Cassano put Esteban Cambiasso through one-on-one with Sergei Ryzhikov. The midfielder dribbled past the goalkeeper and sent in a cross from the byline that allowed the 19-year-old Livaja to score with a header.

Rubin went close to retaking the lead when Ryazantsev's low shot from just outside the box hit the post. Inter then threatened too, early in the second half, as Livaja placed his right-footed shot just over the bar with only Ryzhikov to beat after being released by Cassano.

The game hung in the balance until Rondón latched onto Roman Eremenko's pass, dribbled beyond Andrea Ranocchia and steered a precise low shot past Handanovič. Rubin were as close as it gets to a flying start in the group – but Nagatomo salvaged a UEFA Europa League point for the hosts.

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